Republicans advance bill with steep cuts to Medicaid as part of Trump agenda
By Nathaniel Weixel and Emily Brooks
May 14, 2025
Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced legislation Wednesday afternoon containing cuts to Medicaid and health care provisions — some of the most controversial and contentious provisions that will be included in the “big, beautiful bill” of President Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda.
The panel voted along party lines 30-24 after a marathon meeting that lasted more than 26 hours with just two breaks for House votes. The bill now heads to the House Budget Committee, which will meet Friday morning to combine it with legislation from other committees advancing Trump’s priorities — namely the extension of tax cuts and new tax breaks for tips and overtime pay
The Energy and Commerce Committee was tasked with finding $880 billion in savings over a decade, and much of that came from cuts to Medicaid spending.
The GOP plan calls for states to impose work requirements on childless adults ages 19 to 64, with certain exemptions. It puts a stop to a longstanding practice of states levying taxes on health providers to pay for their Medicaid programs and to boost their federal match. It would penalize states that pay for Medicaid for those who entered the country without authorization. It also codifies changes proposed by the Trump administration to shorten the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period, among many other provisions.
The provisions would result in 10.3 million people losing Medicaid coverage by 2034 and 7.6 million people going uninsured, according to a partial analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Democrats repeatedly cited some other CBO estimates that projected millions more losing health coverage, which Republicans said was misleading.
“It’s clear that all this bill does is take away health care for millions of Americans in order to pay for giant tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. And that’s not what the American people want,” ranking member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) said.
Republicans argued the decline in insurance would be mostly among those who entered the U.S. without permission and “able-bodied” adults who should be working. They accused Democrats of misrepresenting the impact to score political points.
“Our priority remains the same: strengthen and sustain Medicaid for those whom the program was intended to serve: expectant mothers, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly,” Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) said in his opening statement, adding that the reforms will “return taxpayer dollars to middle-class families.”
The hearing became contentious at times. Members occasionally sniped at each other.
“If I could roll two eyes, I would,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a veteran who wears an eyepatch, said in the markup of Democrats’ arguments.
Crenshaw accused Democrats of spreading lies, leading to a back-and-forth about whether that was permissible of him to say. “My message to all of you who were tricked into being here, guess what, your Medicaid benefits aren’t at risk under this bill, full stop. They’re using you, and they’re lying to you,” Crenshaw said.
During the first hour alone, Republicans’ opening statements were interrupted by protesters angry about the plan to cut Medicaid. U.S. Capitol Police arrested 26 demonstrators, many in wheelchairs, who held up the proceeding shortly after it began. The group Popular Democracy in Action took credit for that protest.
The length of the markup was in itself a protest from the committee’s Democrats, who forced Republicans into many votes on ill-fated amendments. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) made a late night appearance at the hearing at one point to also show opposition to Medicaid cuts.
That all-night, marathon markup was a physical feat for some members. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) appeared to doze off during the hearing.
Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) said he was surviving on energy drinks, fruit and nicotine pouches.
“I’ve had four Celsius,” Hudson said. “I’m on my third can of Zyn.”
The health care portion was the final section of the Energy and Commerce bill that lawmakers debated during the marathon session, which began mid-afternoon Tuesday and also covered energy, environment and communications.
It also repeals numerous programs passed by the Democrats in their 2022 bill that sought to combat climate change and pollution. This includes a $20 billion “green bank” program that provides financing institutions with money to fund climate-friendly projects and a $3 billion block grant program that seeks to reduce pollution in disadvantaged communities.
But it is Medicaid that has been the biggest flashpoint throughout the GOP debate over how to enact Trump’s agenda, with moderates and members in vulnerable seats wary of the political consequences of supporting…
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